Pink To The Future
by crawler778
Summary: Azusa finds herself in a future where Yui rules the world with the power of moe. You might think it's funny, but it's not: keep your handkerchiefs at hand. Content Warning: Suggestive Themes.
1. Prologue: A Pink and Future Secret

**Introduction**

Some stories are meticulously written by their authors with utmost care, out of their will to express themselves. Other stories simply unfolds on their own in the writer's mind and demand to be told. "Pink To The Future", believe it or not, falls completely in the second category.

First of all I want to thank the authors of K-On Abridged, since the premise of the story is based upon a gag they wrote (or re-dubbed, if you prefer).

After that, I have a few apologies to make in advance.

The first goes to those who all will read my fanfic, because "Pink To The Future" it's a very unpolished work. You much probably find numerous mistakes of syntax and plot inconsistencies. Notwithstanding that, I hope that you will somehow like (or just keep reading) the story.

The second apology goes to all lovers of the original K-on manga and anime. In fact, the ties with the original story-line are very loose, to say the least. The main reason I made this story a K-on fanfic it's because it was inspired by the Yui/Azusa dicotomy.

With that said, I wish to thank in advance all those who will overcome the many flaws of this fanfic and enjoy it.

K-on (c) belongs to Kakifly

**Prologue: A Pink and Future Secret**

It was a spring day like another at the Sakuragaoka Girl's High School - or at least that's what everyone thought it was. A young girl was standing in front of a window, in a small landing between the intersection of a stair: the girl in question was Yui Hirasawa, lead singer and lead guitarist of a light music circle's band known as Hokago Tea Time. As she was reminiscing the days gone by, she started talking out loud to herself:

"When I was in the elementary, I was always spacing out. When I was in Junior High School, I was always spacing out. But now that I'm a third-year High School student, it's time to begin my plan to rule the world !" As soon as she finished that sentence, she made a villainous, yet somehow sweet and childish long chuckle.

"Yui-senpai ! What are you talking about !?" Yui turned around and saw an astonished Azusa looking at her. Azusa Nakano was the one-year younger rhythm guitarist of Hokago Tea Time, and was in many aspects the exact opposite of Yui. As Yui was cheerful, outgoing and naive, Azusa was always determined, logical and quite introverted.

"Azu-nyan !" Yui replied with the widest smile, calling her friend with that silly nick-name she made for her, as she always used to do. She was just about to run at her and hug her, when Azusa stopped her firmly:

"Stop right there ! What where you talking about just now ?" she said, more perplexed than worried.

"What ?" Yui asked back. After a second, she remembered: "Oh, right ! That thing about me ruling the world ?"

"Yes !" Azusa replied back with an even more pressing tone.

Yui gave her another childish smile, this time with a little streak of playfulness as if she was teasing her, then she said:

"But you don't have to worry about that, you silly ! I'm going to make a world where everyone is happy. ALWAYS." Of course, Azusa wouldn't take seriously that statement even for a second, but she couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right.

"Just out of curiosity, what that plan would consist about ?" she asked, knowing perfectly that she would regret she did that.

"Hehe" Yui chuckeld again: "I can't tell you, it's a secret plan !"

"I thought we were friends, Yui-senpai..." she replied seriously, only for the sake of teasing her back "Friends have no secrets, you know..."

"I told you it's a secret, right ? Well, here's the catch..." this time Yui got nearer and started whispering to her friend

"You see, my plan is SO secret..." she stopped again, and only when she was sure that nobody could overhear their conversation, she ended the phrase "...that I don't know it MYSELF."

For a moment, Azusa couldn't believe the nonsense of what she heard. "But as soon as I discover that..." Yui concluded with a louder, determined voice "...nobody's going to stop me". Azusa was unable to tell if Yui was serious or not, and that made her worry about her friend's mental sanity once again. She shrugged and dismissed that feeling: that's how she always felt about Yui after all.

"Let's go to the club, now. The others are waiting" she told her with a disconsolate voice.

"YAAAY !" Yui screamed happily, throwing her arms up in the air.

That very night, Azusa was all set for a good sleep. She pretty much forgot about the discussion she had with Yui, since it wasn't the first time she heard her weird stuff. She closed her eyelids and fell asleep slowly, but nothing could be prepare her for what she would see when she opened them again.

As the sun hit her face, Azusa rubbed her eyes still half-asleep. She found herself lying on the middle of a street, still wearing her yellow pajamas. As she soon as she had time to recollect she noticed buildings on both side of the streets, and she was immediately struck from something very peculiar: they were all pink.

"Lucid dreaming..." she mumbled to herself as she got to her feet. Her suspicion was apparently confirmed by what she saw thereafter. Pink: pink everywhere. She saw a group pf people assembled not very distant from her. She instinctively reached the sidewalk and walked toward them, and when she finally recovered completely her senses, she realized that not only the buildings but all their clothes as well were mostly pink.

Some had blue jeans, while other people had other bright colors on their shirts, but every person's clothes were mostly of that color. Nobody, absolutely nobody where wearing dark or dull colors. No traces of black, grey and similar colors could be found anywhere. She finally noticed that even the street under her feet itself was pink, its shade different just enough to tell where the sidewalk would begin.

As she got near, all the people looked at her with a welcoming but puzzled look on their face. "I'm in pajamas, after all..." she thought to herself. The more the seconds passed, the more she felt uncomfortable: all of this was somehow too vivid to feel like a dream, no matter how a person would call it.

"Hello, young girl ! Did something happen to your clothes, may I ask ?" A middle-aged man asked, with a quite dumb smile on his face. "Well, I..." she paused for a second, then said "...I'm sorry, I'm not even sure how I ended up here."

"Oh, some kind of amnesia ? I'm sure it's temporary !" the man answered with a reassuring voice, still keeping the same facial expression.

Azusa felt her disquieting sensation get stronger every minute. Something was wrong about this, because everything felt real... too much real. She looked at those people faces, and that sure didn't reassure her: they all had that happy, dumb expression she noticed on the man she talked to. When she gave another, more detailed look to her surroundings she literally froze on the spot.

The city was literally filled with any kind of luminous signs and billboards, all pink when it was possible. Electronic displays where all around, showing the very same rotating sentence: "BE HAPPY". And the billboards all showed the same figure, one figure whose cute smile Azusa could recognize among millions: an adult version of Yui.


	2. I: Cuteless Whispers & A Tasteful Enc

**Chapter I: Cuteless Whispers & A Tasteful Encounter**

"Ah, the Moempress !" a man said out loud next to her. Horrified, Azusa watched the man, which was just too busy looking the lovely figure of that young girl with an adoring expression to pay his interloper any more attention.

"Moempress !?" she thought "who could come up with such a silly name !?". She knew that answer: she knew it too well not to start running and try to awake from that strange dream. Without even realizing, she found herself in a back alley, catching her breath.  
And that's when he heard a feminine voice. The voice was deep and low, but somehow familiar.

"This is not your dream, my friend: this is my nightmare."

"Where am I !?" she asked to the darkness, since she couldn't locate the origin of the voice "And who are you !?"

"About the first question, it's not about where: it's about "when": you're seven years in the future."

"What !?" she asked to the voice.

"Remember the conversation you had with your dear friend about her stupid dream of world domination ? Well, it HAPPENED."

"Impossible !" Azusa cried out of desperation.

"Impossible, you say ? Well, I'll let you realize with your own eyes..." the voice replied mockingly. A second later, Azusa saw a pink T-shirt and pink trousers fall in front of her. "Wear them, and no one will notice you... maybe."

"But..." Azusa was somehow reluctant to do what the voice told her.

"Do it... please. You wanted to know what I am, did you ?"

"Yes !" Azusa replied, as if she forgot she made that question and remembered suddenly.

"It's too early for that, I'm afraid, but that's one thing I can tell you right now: you're the only person in the whole world who can help me." the woman said, this time with a sad streak in his voice.

"Help you... to do what ?" Azusa asked, possibly more confused than ever.

"To put an end to all of this, Azusa Nakano. To release you, me, and every person of the world from this madness."

"Amnesia, huh ?" the woman continued before Azusa could ask for details, this time resuming the haughty tone she had before

"I like your style. " She concluded what seemed to be a praise.

"Keep up with that and you'll be fine. Pretend you forgot everything for all day, and just do what everyone else does." The mysterious woman sounded really reassuring and confident this time. "Before the day ends, I'll get to you and I'll tell you everything... though at that time, I'm sure you'll have heard and seen much more than you wanted to."

This time Azusa felt compelled to do what that voice said. Despite her behavior, she didn't find any reason not to trust her.

Sure, she has no idea what her plans could have been, but she seemed much more... "aware" than every other person she met in this strange, new world. At least, Azusa saw no reason not to change her clothes to better fit in that weird place.

"Oh, and of course" the voice added "never talk about this conversation with anyone - in any case." The voice tried to sound intimidating, but Azusa perceived a clear streak of worry instead.

"O-Okay" she replied, trying to sound as much convinced as she could. Once she mustered all the resolve she could, she got back outside from the alley.

Then again, her sanity was put to the test. The more she saw, the more she realized what the voice said made sense. Yui's image was literally everywhere, and she was almost always wearing the same outfit: a Traditional Chinese robe, completed by a Traditional Chinese Pigtail Hat. Needless to say, all of these clothes were completely pink with a darker shade of pink to outline them. In each and every image, she was promoting something with the same, childish, slightly dumb yet undeniably adorable smile.

Every street or square she saw has a cafeteria where people was eating, laughing and playing with food all the time. After a while, she assumed that that last practice wasn't just allowed, but actually encouraged.

At some point, she entered a street and she saw a ridiculous amount of people assembled at the entrance of a restaurant. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she got near a man who was at the end of the group and asked him:

"Hello, kind sir. Can I ask you what's happening ?" she asked timidly and politely.

"This restaurant is opening for the first time, and you know what? The Moester Chef is promoting the event by cooking herself !" the man was surely more than thirty years-old, but he seemed excited like a kid at the amusement park.

"Can you believe it ? We can eat food made from the Moempress little sister and personal cook herself !" a young man added with the same excitement.

"Here she comes !" A woman screamed.

At that point, an adult Ui, dressed with a pink chef uniform, emerged from the restaurant.

With a big smile on her face, she spoke to the people waiting: "Thanks to you all for coming ! I apologize for having you all waiting for a meal. At this moment, the restaurant is full, so I beg you all to return later or tomorrow."

"Ooooh...!" all the people waiting said in unison to express their disappointment.

"In order to apologize, I made some biscuits for each one of you!"

This time the mob answered with a cheerful scream. "Yaaay !"

Eagerly, but in a respectful and polite manner, everyone of them took a biscuit right from Ui's hands. Many of them were unable to suppress the emotion, and Azusa could see an expression of joy in their eyes on their way back. None of them ate their biscuit the moment they got it: they just walked away holding it in their hands instead, as if they wanted to savor the pleasure of receiving it more that its actual taste.

Eventually, Azusa's turn arrived and this time around, it was Ui's face to look surprised and excited to the point that her hand was trembling:

"Azu-nyan... is that YOU !?" she said to her. Before she could answer, Ui continued "No, of course not. You're too young to be her. But still..." the one they called Moester Chef seemed to have something in mind, but her own emotions blocked her somehow.

Azusa took her biscuit before Ui would definitively crumble it without even realizing. "Can I do something for you ?" she asked to that adult version of her friend.

"I..." she said hesitant" I'd like you to meet someone. Someone very, very special." She paused for a second, then added

"No. Not just very special..." Azusa felt Ui was still trying to correct herself and didn't interrupt her "...the most special person in the whole world. I'd like you to meet the Moempress."


	3. II: Hall of The Cuddles Queen

**Chapter II: Hall of The Cuddles Queen**

Moving around the city with the Moester Chef wasn't really the best way for Azusa to go unnoticed, but she was clear to her that refusing the chance the meet the Moempress in person would have been even much more strange for the people of this delirious future.

Ui's mean of transport was a moving kiosk equipped with the basic things she needed to make a crepe or a quick dish for the people in the places she moved. Her role was to dispense happiness through food, and she was truly committed to it.

"So you say you lost your memory, do you ?" Ui asked to Azusa while a young girl was driving the kiosk in the front seat.

"Yes" she replied. "I'm sorry for the trouble..."

"Don't worry about it" Ui replied giving her a warm smile. "There's really nothing you remember ?" She then asked.

"No, I'm sorry. No matter how hard I try, nothing comes back to my mind." Under the pressure, Azusa realized that she was a decent liar, and she didn't like it every bit even if it was necessary at the moment.

On the other hand, she couldn't just say the truth: that she was actually that very person that Ui was talking about from 7 years in the past. In fact, Azusa herself was still struggling with that notion. Suddenly, she felt to dare to question Ui about her present counterpart.

"Can I ask you a question, miss Ui ?" she said politely

"Miss Ui ?" the Moester Chef was incredulous, then replied with another kind smile of her own. "Call me just Ui, please. And yes, of course. Since you have lost your memory, it is natural that you ask me everything you want."

"Before you mistook me for another person, right ? I'd like you to tell me more about it."

"The person in question is Azu-nyan. She is a great friend of the Moempress, her Moenisters... and mine. The reason why I was so surprised to see you is that you look exactly like her... but younger."

"Oh, really ? That's odd."

"Odd, but beautiful in its own way." Ui replied with a clear streak of emotion in her voice. "The Moempress will be happy to see you... even if you're not her. At least, that's what I hope."

"Happy to see me ? Why ? Did something happen to Azu-nyan ?" she dared to ask, this time unable to hide some concern about her own fate in this crazy time-line.

"She's... gone".

"Gone !? Did she d..."

"No" Ui interrupted her before she could finish that terrible sentence. "She's gone in the literal sense. One day, six years ago, she argued with the Moempress and her friends and disappeared. No one ever heard about her since then."

After a she paused for a second Ui continued: "We did all of our best to find her, but with no avail. Deep in our hearts we know she's still alive somewhere and that she will come back one day. Since you're so similar to her, I'd like you to meet the Moempress and spend some time with her. In the meantime we'll take care of you and help you recover your memories."

In that moment, Ui realized what a terrible wrong she made to her new friend, and apologize to her:

"Oh, my gosh... I'm so sorry, I should have asked your consent before !" she asked ashamed.

"It's not a problem, but... do I have to lie and pretend I'm this Azu-nyan you're talking about ?" Azusa asked, this time truly preoccupied.

Ui's sorry face then turned into an interdicted one "What ? No, of course not ! Who would lie to my sister !?"

Azusa didn't take even a moment to beg her for even thinking about such a nasty plan, making an impressive amount of bows in just a couple of seconds.

"Okay, you're forgiven now." Ui chuckled kindly, realizing that the girl's intention were good after all, and that she actually sounded quite upset the moment she asked the question.

"You see..." Ui's voice became tender and serious "the Moempress works night and day to bring happiness to the whole world. This time, I want her to feel that happiness having around someone so similar to our friend. Even if you're not her, I know she'll love to just have you at her side from some time."

"I'll... do my best." Azusa said, preparing herself to have her cheeks consumed by the most important and beloved person of the world.

Eventually, she could see a strange building in the distance: a building with a shape of a giant, pink heart lied there. More than the residence of a powerful overlord, it looked like a weird, cute attraction from a theme park. The guards themselves were wearing pink, heart-shaped costumes and holding pink spears of rubber.

The more they drew near, the more she could feel Ui's excitement and anxiety overcome her own.

"My sister..." she whispered, with her eyes wet of excitement "...I'm going to see my sister again."

Azusa would have many things to worry about, but Ui's state preoccupied her more than everything else: she looked like she was about to explode from a mix of happiness and excitement.

Following Ui, she entered the heart-shaped building. "Welcome to Pink Heart Castle, Moester Chef ! And welcome you too, Moester Chef's young friend !" The guards greeted them as they passed by.

"Thank you !" Ui answered immediately followed by Azusa. As soon as they entered the great hall, Ui turned to Azusa. "Wait here, ok ?"

The following minutes, Azusa could hear Ui explain what happened to the guard and then entered a door. Some minutes later, another guard exited from that same door and called Azusa "come, the Moempress and the Moester Chef are waiting you !".

Another pink heart-shaped stood in front of her door in front of her. She entered the room, and next to Ui she finally saw her. It wasn't an image on a billboard or a sponsor in a commercial this time around: it was really Yui... Yui the Moempress.

"Hiiiiii !" She greeted her with her usual, adorable voice and manner. Then she paused looking at her, as if something was missing and then asked to Ui "Are you sure it's her ?". She sounded a little disappointed, like a child who opened a Christmas present to find out that the gift inside it's not the one he asked for.

"Oh, silly me !" Ui answered. Out of nowhere, she took a couple of kitty ears and put them over Azusa's head.

Once again, Yui stared at Azusa, but this time she has an expression of awe on her face.

"Woooow !" She exclaimed. "She really looks like Azu-nyan !" A second later, she was hugging her, rubbing her cheek against the one of her new friend. "And she feels like Azu-nyan, too !"

"N-nice to meet you..." Azusa said embarassed as always.

"Me too !" Yui said chuckling, still hugging her.

Behind her, she noticed Ui doing her best to hold her tears back.

"My sister told me you lost your memory and you don't remember anything, right ?" Yui asked as she finally released Azusa from the hug.

"Yes" she answered.

"Oooh, that's baaad." she said sadly, then her mood suddenly changed back to a cheerful one "Wait ! That means we'll need to give you a name until you remember your own !"

"Yes, I think so..." Azusa said perplexed, unable to understand what was the fun part about it.

"I love giving names ! Can I give you one !? Pleeease..." she asked.

"Y-yes, of course..."

"Ok, from now, you're going to be "Kitty Kitty", just "Kitty" for your friends !" She claimed as if was the coolest, most brilliant idea ever conceived. "Is that okay ?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes" she answered

"Can I... call you just "Kitty" then ?" Yui asked shyly, looking at the ground.

"Yes" Azusa replied confused.

"But this means we're FRIENDS ! YAAAY !" She said closing her eyes and throwing her hands up in the air. One second later, she was hugging Azusa once again.

"So she's her, isn't it" A familiar voice was heard from the door. It was Mio, and Ritsu and Mugi were both next to her.

"Mugi ! Ritsu ! Mio !" A second later, Yui was running to them for group hug.

Azusa immediately looked at them, and in a second she realized that it was all perfect... too perfect. The three remaining members of Hokago Tea Time were there, but something about them just wasn't right.

Sure, all of them was seven years older than the ones she used to know, but that wasn't the point. The fact was that each and every one of them, in their own way, behaved very similarly to Yui. Too much similarly.

Their facial expressions were slightly different variations of Yui's. All of them had a quite dumb, perpetually happy mood.

Their outfits were incredibly similar to the one Yui was wearing, but even a complete stranger from another time like Azusa could tell that the lack of detail compared to the Moempress's clothes implied a lower, subservient rank.

Five long time friends were in the same room, but there was only one leader.

"I bet we can all call you "Kitty", right ?" Mio said to her, smiling the widest smile Azusa could ever imagine to see on her face. Among all the HTT members, she was notoriously the shyest one, maybe on par with Azusa herself. She was also the most serious and dependable one, traits which this future version lost almost completely.

"Yes, please do." she answered.

Yui went to her pink desk and pushed a button and talked to a speaker "Uhm, can you please come in, Mr. Guard ?" It was her way to summon her servants.

"Yes, Moempress" the same guard as before appeared shortly.

"I'd like you to give my friend Kitty a room to stay, something to eat, and basically everything she needs" she explained to him energically and kindly as always.

"Yes, Moempress" the guard replied again.

"Now Kitty, you can stay as much as you want ! The more you stay, the better !" Yui claimed with the sweetest smile. "I'm sorry now, but I've got to stay here with my friends and chit chat about the future of the world and how to make it even happier !". With that said, she pushed another button, this time on the left wall. A door opened, showing a bigger room with a desk. Five seats were there, each for an HTT memember.

"I guess I've got to go, too !"Ui smiled.

"No, Ui ! You can stay if you want to !" Yui said quickly. "Hmmm, Mr. Guard ?" she said turning to the guard that was supposed to take care of Azu-nyan.

"Yes, Moempress ?" the guard asked.

"Can you please call another Mr. Guard and tell him to bring another seat from my sister to stay ? Oh, and tea and cakes for everyone, of course ! You can't decide the future of the world with an empty stomach !" Yui chuckled, and everyone else (including the guard) chuckled with her.

"Yes, Moempress !" the guard answered, proud and happy to serve.

As she was going out with the guard, Azusa realized that the count of seats didn't match with the number of people involved in the meeting. Why to bring another one ? She was able to see with her own eyes that five seats were already at the table, but when she realized the reason for that, a profound sadness caught her unexpectedly: one of the five "original" seats was for Azu-nyan, and Azu-nyan only.


	4. III: The Thin Line Between Love And Cake

**Chapter III: The Thin Line Between Love And Cake**

As soon as she was given a room to stay in Pink Heart Castle, Azusa didn't waste time and made a request to the Guard.

"Humm.. could I have a history book ?" She asked with her usual polite and timid manner.

"A history book ?" the guard asked back with a puzzled expression on his face. "Ah, you mean the Book of Many Magical Wonders !" He said then, as if he was answering to himself. "I'll got you one soon !".

The guard left immediately, only to come back some minutes later. Azusa heard him knocking at the door. "Can I come in, Miss Kitty Kitty ?"

"Yes, please".

The guard entered, holding a plate with a cake and a cup of tea. As soon as he put the plate on the table, he took a small book out from a bag he wear on his left side and gave it to Azusa.

"Enjoy your book, and suit yourself with your meal: you can't have a good read with an empty stomach !" The guard chuckled and left again, leaving Azusa alone.

Azusa barely gave a taste to her cake and tea. They were absolutely delicious, but her curiosity about the book was too much.

What she saw when she opened the first page left her speechless: more than a history book, she found herself reading some kind of illustrated book for children.

The Book of Many Magical Wonders dismissed all the previous thousands years of humanity's history with a sentence: "a time when people used to do many nasty things to each other you'd better not know because the were not cute nor funny at all."

The Book then describes with magnificent tones the appearance of Hokago Tea Time, the light music band formed by the Three Moenisters and the Moempress itself. It explains how songs like "Rice Is a Dish", "U&I", but most of all "Fuwa Fuwa Time" changed the world with their catchy melodies and beautiful rhymes.

The story follows with the so-called "Pink Revolution", an ideology that basically revolved around the opinion (which the book stated like a matter of fact) that "thought all colors are nice their own way, pink is by the cutest and coolest of all, therefore there is pretty much no need for the other ones".

From that point on, the book focus on the story of the only true savior of the world: the Moempress herself.

It stressed how many brilliant ideas she conceived to make peoples lives happy and carefree. A pivotal part in this was the invention of the Secret Ingredient, a revolutionary type of sugar which made every food taste delicious and didn't make  
people grow fat no matter how they would eat.

The Secret Ingredient formula was actually given to all the sugar producers of the world, and the book tells how the Moempress wanted to call it that way just because it was "such cool name and a funny joke at the same time."

Thinking back to her own experience, Azusa realized that she actually saw no fat people so far. Sure, some of them were a little round and chubby, but she never met a single, really overweight person.

The book tells how Yui devised a number of devices to make people have fun even when they were supposed to do things that previously could be considered boring by many: studying and working.  
She convinced the whole world that people can do better when they're happy, so she removed many formalities and customs and changed those who remained so they could be funny and cute.

For example, she suggested that teachers should wear lovely and weird costumes during their classes and entertain their  
students during the lessons with silly jokes as they explained their subject. When the book describes this part, the name of no other than Sawako Yamanaka (the light music club supervisor) pops out.

"She's always been obsessed with outfits..." She thought, as if the things she was reading could make any sense whatsoever.

Azusa decided to stop reading at some points, trying to come to terms to what she read and absorb all those crazy information.

"All of this in just seven years? Absurd. Simply absurd." No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to stop having a rational approach in all of this madness. She ate her cake and drank her tea. They were sweet indeed.

"I'll lie down and rest a bit" she said to herself "who knows, maybe when I'll open my eyes I'll be back home in my own bed. My REAL bed."

The sound of the guard knocking the door on her room awoke. "Miss Kitty Kitty, the Moempress and the others would enjoy to have you at lunch."

"I'm coming" she replied.

"Here comes our Kitty !" Yui exclaimed, with grains of rice already lying at sides of her mouth. Ui and the others greeted her with a disturbingly similar way.

She ate some rice, and for the countless time in this delirium, she felt lost: its taste was pretty much the same as the cake she ate earlier.

"The Secret Ingredient" the answer came in her mind like a flash. And that feeling of loss was soon replaced with a sense of pure worry when she realized that the more she eat, the more she wanted.

Dish after dish, Yui and the other kept joking and laughing all the time. Azusa felt a sense of heart-warming happiness. It felt beautiful, but terribly wrong at the same time. They weren't the friends she loved and knew, after all.  
Not just Mio and the others, even the guards and the few people she talked to seemed just variations of the same person: Yui the Moempress. All of them, except the mysterious voice.

Eventually, Mio offered to take care of Kitty Kitty and let her have a tour of the city so she could recover her memory faster. Somehow Yui showed a little sign of disappointment, as if she did want her to stay at Pink Heart Castle as long as possible. Realizing that, Ritsu spoke immediately to reassure her beloved leader: "Come on, Yui ! Even when she'll recover her memory, she'll still remain our Kitty Kitty, right ?" She then turned to Azusa and smile to her with a wink.

"Y-yes ! After all you did for me..." she replied blushing a little.

At that point, Yui jumped from her seat and screamed "Yaaaay !" throwing her hands up in the air. Her soft, childish voice was even higher than usual. She then started running all around with a big smile on her face, screaming "Wheeee !" with her arms still high up in the air. Eventually, the run finished with a big hug to Azusa. It felt warm. It feld good. It felt terribly wrong.

The city tour simply confirmed all that Azusa read on The Book of Many Magical Wonders. People all around her were happy, every time, all the time.

"Where did the Moempress go ?" She asked to Mio out of curiosity.

"Making the world happy, where else ?" she replied with a tone of admiration and gratefulness in her voice and a smile on her face. "Her schedule is very full, you know - and a very flexible one. She might appear in a classroom and stay the whole  
morning with the children as a classmate, or pop out from under the desk of a general store and start selling stickers. She loves to surprise people: she loves it more than anything else. She believes that life is a journey where the most unexpected, wonderful things await you every corner, and nothing makes her happier than being one of those things."

"Sounds very carefree. I'm.. well.. very happy for her." That was the only comment that Azusa could be able to pull off.

"Of course, some of her duties also include fixed appointments" Mio said "like the Hugging Marathon, where she appears in Hugging Square and the people lines up to be hugged by her, or the Weekly Wonder Wheel."

"The Weekly Wonder Wheel ?" Azusa asked.

"Ah, you really lost your memory, did you ?" Mio replied with a kind smile on her face. "I'm not going to tell you anything, then: I don't want to spoil you the fun !"

Eventually, the day passed by. There came dinner, where everybody came together again at Pink Heart Castle. This time, though, more friends were there: Sawako the Tailor Queen, the Moempress's trusted general and childhood friend Nodoka Manabe, and finally Jun Suzuki. The scene was pretty much the same: fun, laughter and lots of food with the same, delicious taste.

Exhausted, Azusa went back to her room. Then again, she wished with all of her strength to awake in her room before she fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in her castle's room anymore, but she wasn't back home either. She found herself tied up on a chair, in a poorly illuminated room.

A figure dressed in a black robe was standing before. As soon she spoke, Azusa immediately recognized the mysterious voice she heard that morning: "Did you enjoy your meal, Kitty Kitty ?"


	5. IV: The Other Side of The Spoon

**Chapter IV: The Other Side of The Spoon**

"Uh.. uhnn" Azusa tried to recollect. "What am I doing here..."

"Do you forgot our little chat this morning ?" the figure spoke.

"No, but I didn't thought you would do something like this !" Azusa said confused and afraid.

"What is your favorite color ?" the figure asked.

"What kind of question is that ? Free me, please..." she said even more afraid than before.

"Answer me first, and I'll promise I'll free you."

"Blue ! My favorite color is blue !"

"Good. Thank goodness, you are still you..." she then got near. Out of an unspeakable fear, Azusa closed her eyes until she felt that her woman was really untying her from the rope.

"There you go. Open your eyes, and take a good look."

Azusa did as the figure ordered, and her own world was turned upside down one more time again. In front of her, stood a dark blue dressed, older figure of herself.

"You. impossible." she said. "All the others are worried about you ! They've searched you everywhere ! Why aren't you with them !?"

"The others ?" adult Azusa said with an irritated voice "You mean Yui and her brain-washed followers !? Don't make laugh, Kitty. The others are gone years ago."

"B-But..."

"There are no "buts", Missy. There's only me telling you my story and you listening to it." She said with a serious, but very calm tone. Despite the situation, despite the rude behavior of her future counter-part, Azusa felt again that sensation of trust she had when she first talked to her.

"Your story ? You mean, the story of this world ?"

"Yes, the real one: not that ridiculous thing they call the "Book of Many Magical Wonders." " she said, stressing her disgust in the last part of the sentence. "I want you to know the truth, or at least the succession of events as I saw them and no one else remembers."

Azusa nodded silently: she had no choice, and she had to admit that she curious to know.

"It all began seven years ago. At that time I wasn't part of Hokago Tea Time, since all the other members graduated one year before me. I was busy and happy leading my band as the new president of the Light Music Club. One day, I turned the TV in my room, and I saw a commercial about rice. Can you guess what the song of the commercial was ?"

"Rice is a Dish ?" Azusa replied.

"Exactly. I can remember the happiness of that moment as if it was yesterday: I had just no idea of what would come next. That was the beginning of the end of the world as we know it."

Azusa looked her adult counterpart with a shocked expression, unable to consider such statement more believable than the things she read on the Book of Many Wonders.

"Rice is a Dish became a single. The most successful single ever made, to be precise."

"HTT fame sky-rocketed, and Yui, who used that success in combination with her adorable look and childish voice to promote peace as many others artists did before, became famous beyond any imagination in the blink of an eye. Her account on Twitter got so many followers at once that the system crashed, and she had to turn it into a protected one."

"She became SO famous... just singing a song for a commercial and talking about peace !?" Azusa asked in shock.

"Famous doesn't actually even begin to define her popularity." adult Azusa said to her. "Do you remember that Justin Bieber guy ?"

"Of course" Azusa replied naturally.

"Well, HE sent a request to Yui to become one of his Followers on Twitter. His request is still Pending."

"Unbelievable" Azusa said.

"And the worst part has yet to come." Adult Azusa with a streak of sadness in her voice.

"On a winter day, at 4:47 pm, Yui gets hit by a bullet in the head during a beneficence concert right before a performance."

"What !?" Azusa said horrified. "Who would do such a horrible thing to someone like Yui !?"

Adult Azusa sighed, and answered: "Justin Bieber."

"But.. but why !?"

Adult Azusa sighed again, and answered "his request was still Pending".

"The bullet didn't manage to kill her, of course. It didn't go deep enough to hit a vital part." she continued "A three hours-long, very complicated operation was done to retrieve the bullet from her brain. It was as if all the world stopped breathing for three, interminable hours, as the fate of a lovely, young little girl was hanging between life and death."

Adult Azusa's voice was always low and deep, but her younger self from the past could clearly feel the emotion in her voice.

She could see her, holding Mio and the other girls hands to face those moments together. She could hear her pray with all her strength God, Buddha, and all the godly beings she knew to save her friend and bring her back to her.

"In the end, Yui was safe." Adult Azusa felt relieved for a second, but her voice soon turned back as grave as before " But something changed her, and in time it would change the whole world as well. A harmless fragment of the bullet remained in her brain, somehow raising her IQ... twenty times over."

"Twenty-times ?" Azusa asked back.

"At that point, both her popularity and intelligence became unparalleled all at once. She became... unstoppable. The Pink Revolution, The Secret Ingredient, and all the rest... it's all true. The combined power of moe, intelligence and mass control made of Yui and the rest of the world what you see now."

"In just seven years !? How can it be ?"

"Seven years ? Pfft, she made all of this in just one." adult Azusa replied with an almost mocking tone.

The young Azusa tried to gather all of the crazy information and put them all together. It all seemed like a strange, somehow cruel joke to her.

"But why didn't you and the other girls tried to talk to her ?" Azusa asked with a trace of anger in her voice.

"Ritsu saw Yui's popularity as a way to make profit. For Mio it was the perfect opportunity to stop singing and go back from the spotlight - she never liked to be too popular in the first place. Mugi was just fine with that, as always. When Yui began to devise her own cutish schemes of world domination, it was too late. When I managed to get back to the band as a member, the others were all changed already. A place as the fourth Moenister was ready for me: I refused, and disappeared."

"I... I see." Azusa replied in disappointment.

"Now, let's get to business, Kitty Kitty: the reason why you are here."

"Right... how did it happen ?" Azusa asked immediately " Do you have a time machine or something ?"

"A time machine ?" she replied with an irritated and sarcastic tone "If I had something like that, I would have gone in the past and changed the events myself ! No... I prayed. I prayed with all of my strength for a chance, just one chance to stop all of this. And a few nights ago, I had a dream where you were lying asleep in the middle of the street where I found you yesterday morning."

"A prayer... ?" young Azusa asked in disbelief "...that's it ?"

"That's the one only explanation I have. I'm afraid you'll have to stick with that. The point it's not how you came here: the point is why, and how you can get back."

"What... !? Y-you mean you know how to do it !? You know how to make me go back to my reality !?" Azusa asked with hope and anxiety in her heart and her voice.

"Possibly. But first things first. You try to help me, then I try to help you." adult Azusa replied coldly.

"What do you want me to do then ?" the young Azusa yielded.

"I bet someone had you take a tour of the city, right ?" adult Azusa asked. "In that case, you must have seen Hugging Square."

"Yes, I did. What's about the square ?"

"It's not the square, but what lies on the sea in the distance."

Young Azusa then remembered. She saw many absurd things that day that seemed to pop out from a Disney cartoon or the most childish anime the human mind can conceive, so at the time she labeled what her older self was referring at just as another weirdness.

From the sea, there was a huge, pink tarpaulin that was hiding something very, very tall. Possibly a giant monument or a building of some sort.

"That's the Moempress secret project. Nobody knows exactly what it is, except for the Moenisters, her most trusted companions and of course the workers employed. What I know, it's that it's finally complete and it will be shown to the public on Tuesday."

"What do you want me to do ?" young Azusa asked.

"I want you to get to know what is all about. Tomorrow evening, I will come to get you and you will tell me what the secret project really is. At that point, I promise you I'll do everything I can to get you back to the your time."

"I... I don't understand. Why such a hurry ? And what will you do next ?" young Azusa was just curious and somehow even worried not to ask.

"I must stop them... before it's complete." adult Azusa replied with a determination that made her younger self shiver.

"All alone ?" she asked.

"Everybody is happy in this world, remember ? Things like security are non-existent. Even the guards at Pink Castle are just for show: you wouldn't be here otherwise."

"But... how ?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I need your help. I want you to use your "similarity" to me to get the Moempress tell it to you, and you must do it before Monday evening. Time is on the essence, and failure it's not an option."

"But... that's horrible !" young Azusa replied in shock. "You're just telling me to use the affection she still feels for you to cheat her and ruin her surprise to the world !" that realization hurt her even more as she said that: how could she become such a monster, even in such a weird future ?

That thought alone was enough to horrify her, but it got even worse when she realized that that was her older self's plan since they first met, and that she played her part without even knowing.

"Horrible, you say ?" adult Azusa replied with sarcastic composure "Let me ask you a question, then: did you ever heard anybody refer to me as "Azusa" ?" she then asked politely.

"Well... no." young Azusa replied with a streak of sadness: a part of her realized what her older self was going to get to.

"Everybody keep calling you "Azu-nyan"."

"Do you know why ?" adult Azusa asked, but she gave the answer herself this time "Because "Azusa Nakano" as a being ceased to exist. She was removed by everyone's memory and replaced with "Azu-nyan", and that's just because the Moempress think it's cute."

"But that's not just about me, my younger self" she said before young Azusa could reply. "She did the same thing with everything else she didn't like. Not just hate and violence, but even grim or serious stories. She turned the whole world into a dumb, ever-smiling version of itself."

"But why the secret project, of all things ? What could she hide under that giant tarpaulin so that just stopping its development would change everything back the way it was ?" young Azusa asked, even it sounded more like a desperate attempt to stop her older self's proposition than a real question.

"The Moempress is a GENIUS, did you forgot !? The secret project is her ultimate work. Whatever it is, it will affirm once and for all the superiority of her vision over everyone else !" Azusa's feelings were mixed: somehow she didn't really wanted to believe what she just heard.

"Look at me. Look into my eyes now, and give me an answer to this." adult Azusa said with an imposing voice, and as her younger self managed to look her into her eyes, she asked "Do you think I'm some kind of monster ? Do you think I don't want everyone to be happy, too ?"

Her glance pierced the young Azusa as a knife. She realized she was asking that question to her as an ultimate test of resolve.

"You have one day to decide." she said then. "If you think that the world it's fine the way it is, then just don't care about the plan and enjoy yourself. If you think that I'm right, then you MUST have the Moempress tell you what the secret project is. Don't even bother asking to the Moenisters or anybody else: they'd never tell you even under torture. In any case..." she sighed, as if the thing she was about to say could have dire consequences "...in any case, I promise I'll help you to get back to your time. All I ask you is one day - and considering that I prayed for years for this chance, you have to concede me at least that."

"Are you sure there is no other way ? Maybe there is a way to convince the Moempress..." young Azusa knew she had to try again.

"Talking to her, you say ? If you think it can be done, why don't do it yourself ? I won't stop you, as long as you don't tell her about me."

"Why not ? Why do you hide from her ?" young Azusa asked back

" "Azu-nyan", remember ? The first thing she would do would be squeezing me with a hug, and then she'd start telling how the world became cool and other silly stuff. Before I could realize, I would find myself wearing that stupid Moenister's outfit. At that point I'd just be another of her adoring puppets like everyone else, and all would be lost."

"One day." young Azusa replied.

"It's all I need." her older self replied with a grin on her face. "Tomorrow is Monday, you see. The day of The Weekly Wonder Wheel."

"Even Mio mentioned it to me, but what is that ? Why is everyone so excited about it ?"

"You don't know yet, do you ?" adult Azusa replied with another big grin "I'm not going to tell you anything, then: I don't want to spoil you the "fun"."


	6. V: Spins of Omission

**Chapter V: Spins of Omission**

Young Azusa had no problems to return to her room in Pink Heart castle, since all the so-called "guards" did nothing but greet her with their usual dumb smile.

The problems arrived when she lied on her bed and closed her eyes. Her sleep was terrible, as the weight of an entire world seemed to lie on her little shoulders.

She was awakened by the door knocking. "Miss Kitty Kitty ?" Mio's voice was on the other side

"Yes ?" She asked.

"It seems you overslept, sleepyhead !" Mio chuckled "You have to get ready soon, or you'll going to miss it !"

She looked at the pig-shaped clock, and she realized that it was 10:00 am already.

"I-I'm sorry ! I'll be ready soon !" she said apologizing.

She dressed quickly, and when she got outside her room a guard escorted her to a dining room where Mio was waiting her for a delicious breakfast.

"Enjoy your meal, Kitty. There's still time." Mio said with a lovely, somehow motherly smile as she ate her own cake.

When they were ready they headed for Hugging Square aboard a pink chariot. Along the way, all the people started to gather in many different squares. In each square there was a giant screen: Azusa realized that something was about to be broadcast simultaneously... everywhere.

***  
It was about 11:00 am on that Monday, and like every other Monday for the last years everything was ready for the most popular show of human's story. Time ago, Monday was considered by many the worst day of the week, but that was when school and work were considered boring things.

In this new age, Monday was the beginning of another week of love and happiness to share and the show that was about to begin made this day even more exciting.

When the childish opening title began, the crowd exulted. When the adorable Moempress appeared with her pink outfit and her lovely smile, it was a delirium of screams of love and appreciation.

"Hiiiii !" The Moempress saluted the mob raising her right hand.

"Hi, Moempress !" the mob replied in unison.

"Welcome to another supermegauberawesome edition of the Weekly Wonder Wheel ! Which will be the weekly items this time ? I can't wait to know !" the Moempress said filled with excitement.

The name of the show itself was actually inaccurate: in fact, next to the Moempress there wasn't just a single wheel ready to be rotated, but several ones. All of them were of the same size, except for a bigger one. While the greater wheel has numbers and arrows on it, all of the others had different symbols at the end of each clove.

"Okay, everyone ! Let's spin the Main Wheel to decide in which order we'll spin the other ones !" The mob cheered again, as the Moempress turned the bigger wheel. The crowd stood silent, as if the fate of the world depended on the outcome. Finally, the result arrived and the Moempress exclaimed "That's it ! We're going to start with the Wheel of Fruit, and then proceed to the next on the right. We'll keep this order until have been turned !" She explained with excitement, as if it was part of a very important, elaborated protocol.

The Moempress draw near the so-called Wheel of Fruit, and turned it. When it stopped, the mob roared in disappointment:

"Oooooh..." The chosen fruit was cherry.

"Oh, no ! Cherry, the same fruit as the past week !" the Moempress echoed the mob. "But wait !" she said suddenly, as if she remembered something crucial. "I was about to forget the no-doubles rule ! When the result of a Wheel it's the same as the previous week, we are entitled to another round ! And that means... another spin ! Yaaayy !" Her voice could barely contain her excitement.

The mob roared again, this time to applaud the brilliance of a rule which wouldn't allow any boring repetition. What they didn't know, it's that the Moempress pulled this "trick" once a week, every time in a different wheel. She convinced the staff of the show to rig a certain wheel in order to get the excuse to use the no-doubles rule.

The idea of entertaining the world with the her show was an unbelievable joy already, but giving them such entertainment right after a temporary disappointment was priceless - even if that disappointment was orchestrated by herself.

Not even for a second the Moempress would consider to cheat on any other spin, as every time a wheel was turning she craved the thrill and the excitement of the wait more than anyone else.

"The fruit of the week is strawberry... and this time for REAL !" she shouted as soon as the wheel stopped.

Wheel after wheel, she kept shouting out of happiness at every result, and the mob promptly followed her with cheers of joy.

There was a different, specific wheel for any category of food, and a wheel for any piece of clothing.

At some the point, it was time to spin the Moempress favorite: the Item of Happiness Wheel. Once again, she shouted with her lovely voice "The Item of Happiness of the Week is... the Pink Fluorescent Light Stick !"

"Yeees !" The mob replied with another cheerful roar.

"Okay, everyone ! Once you've got your light stick, remember to use it to signal your happiness to those near to you by raising your arm as you hold it in your hand !" the Moempress said. "Oh, and don't forget to change your hand once in a while, or you're going to have your arm hurt from keeping it up all the time like someone I know..." she added blushing, implying that she was referring to herself the last time that that item was chosen by the wheel.

The mob just chuckled with tenderness.

"Very well, everyone ! Before I said goodbye to you all until next Monday, I have super awesome announcement for you: tomorrow at this hour, we're going to finally show you all the Super Secret Project !"

The mob's jubilation, if possible, was high as never before.

"I will be personally attending the ceremony at Hugging Square, and then... hugs for everyone !

The crowd exploded in an outburst of joy. "We love you, Moempress !" some would scream, followed by many others.

When the show was over and the hype subsided, the mob slowly and quietly disbanded. During the course of the day, everyone would go to the nearest general store to buy his own Pink Fluorescent Light Stick. No one would force them to do that : only their will to conform with the others, show their happiness to them and, most importantly, to their beloved Moempress.

Concerning all the other things chosen from the wheels spins, the only difference between them and a "non-weekly" food or piece of clothing would have been a 1% discount. Since money stopped being a problem and poverty disappeared, the change was simply irrelevant in everyone's daily life.

And yet, the people would keep watching the show the next Monday and all the Mondays that would follow. It wasn't the outcome of the spins that they cared for, after all, but the thrill of the spinning themselves. The basic need of every human being to have something to wait for. Something to hope for. Something to live for. The Weekly Wonder Wheel.

***  
Eventually, the time for lunch came, and then arrived dinner again. Just as the day before, there were jokes and laughters in Pink Heart Castle's dining room - and the joy was even higher due to the excitement of what would come the day after. For all that time, Azusa forced herself to smile now and then, but her very aim was to be able to talk to the Moempress alone.

The teenager from the past didn't want to truly help her future counterpart in her crusade for human's free will - not yet. She wanted to just talk with Yui and let her realize that even if her motivation was good, she just went too far. She didn't know exactly how put that into words, but she knew she had to try all her best to convince her to let her loosen her grip of perpetual happiness on the world.

Surprisingly enough, it was actually the Moempress herself to address her first. "What bothers you, Kitty ?" She asked to her "I mean, I saw you smile now and then, but not as much as one is supposed to... but I know how a way to fix that !" she said  
with a smirk.

"Follow me, I want to share a secret with you..." Saying that, she turned to the Moenisters and told them politely to wait for her and Kitty.

Seeing that as an unrepeatable chance, Azusa followed her. "Well, you see Yui, I... uhmmm..." she tried to begin her. "I wanted to talk to you about all the things you're doing to make the people happy..."

"Really !?" she smiled as she kept walking "That's one more reason for me to showing it to you, then !" she added. "You see, Kitty, you remind me some much of Azu-nyan... the way she looked always so lonely and serious. That's why I want to show it to you before anyone: the Super Secret Project."


	7. VI: Tea Minutes To Midnight

**Chapter VI: Tea Minutes To Midnight**

"B-but..." Azusa couldn't believe that. Once again everything was going exactly as adult Azusa's plan - a plan she didn't want to make part. "...you're going to reveal it to the world tomorrow, right ? Why do you want to tell me now ?"

"That's the fun part, Kitty ! Tomorrow, when I'll show it to everyone, I want you to pretend to be happy about it as if you knew nothing about it." she explained excited "Nobody will know that I told you before everyone else: it's going to be a secret between you and me !" she concluded giggling, proud of the brilliant idea she just had.

Before Azusa could reply, Yui opened the door of her own room. "Here we are ! Wait here a second, okay ?" She then moved a book from a shelf nearby. At that point, a piece of the wall moved to the side revealing a secret door.

Azusa could easily see that there was a small, nine numbered panel on the right side of the metal door. Yui seemed lost as she was trying to remember the code, then she just looked at the left side of the door where the code itself was written.

"A "genius", huh ?" Azusa thought in disbelief.

When the metal door opened, Yui entered alone. There was any kind of identification system to overcome to proceed: eyes, voice and fingerprints. After a while, Yui finally came back with a single sheet of paper in her hand, which she gave to Azusa which a prideful expression on her face.

"This is it, Kitty: my final, Super Secret Project". Azusa watched the paper: the drawing of a pink tower was in it. The tip of the tower was in the shape of a heart, and in the middle of the heart lied a clock. The drawing seemed to be made by the hands of an elementary student, and the paper itself looked like it was from years ago.

"The Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower" the Moempress said with a dreamy voice. "Instead of having boring numbers indicating the different hours, the clock contains the word "Fuwa" at their place" she explained. "The Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower is not like any other clock tower: it's pure, never-ending happiness."

In that very moment, Azusa realized that that was the chance she was waiting for: it was now or never. "You, see, Yui... that's really what I wanted to talk you about..." she said as her voice was slightly trembling. "I know how much you really want to make everyone happy, and that's beautiful. But don't you think that maybe now everyone is... happy enough ?"

The Moempress stared at young Azusa as if she was an alien. The words she just spoke didn't make her angry: from her point of view, they just made no sense at all.

She smiled back to her with a tender smile, as a mother who just heard her child say something stupid but sweet at the same time. "How could such a sweet, little head like yours come up with something so silly, Kitty !? There is no limit to happiness, everybody knows that !" she said then with her lovely voice with the same smile on her face.

"B-but..." Azusa didn't really know what to say.

"Don't worry, Kitty." she patted her head "Tommorow, you will understand." She then kindly took the drawing from her hand and as she watched it, she added with a dreamy voice "Everybody will."

***

A few hours later, Azusa was standing in front of her future self in her secret base. This time, she met her outside of Pink Heart Castle of her own volition.

"What did you choose, then ?" the adult Azusa asked her.

"Nothing... not yet. I know what the Super Secret Project, even if I never asked for that." She replied coldly.

"And you don't want to tell me ?"

"It depends. If you want to know, I want you to promise me one thing."

"I didn't know you were in the position to make demands" the adult Azusa replied sarcastically "but as I said before, I like your style. What do you want ?"

"Whatever your plan is, you must speak with her one last time. No matter what the risks are, I want you to stop hiding and tell her how you really feel."

Adult Azusa took a few seconds, then she answered firmly: "Agreed. You have my word." As she said that, her glare pierced again teen Azusa like a knife: this time it was no lie, but a promise she was ready to fulfill at any cost. "I owe you that, and I owe it to her as well."

"Let's get it over with, then." teen Azusa replied without great emphasis. "It's a clock tower. "Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower", as she calls it. Honestly, I don't really see how ruining its debut would change anything."

"A clock tower !? Impossible... it can't be." adult Azusa lost all of her composure. "How... how could I not imagine that..."

Her eyes were staring in the void, as if she just realized that the answer was always in front of her but she didn't notice.

"Is it really that serious ?" teen Azusa asked puzzled.

"One day, not so distant from your present, Yui will come up with such a weird fantasy as you and the others chit chat in the club's room." adult Azusa replied with a grave tone in her voice, then she continued "That was... that WILL be the beginning of everything..." she then said, as if she came to that realization as the words were coming out from her mouth.

"But that..." teen Azusa replied "...that means that all I have to do it's let her realize how silly such idea is, and nothing of this madness will...

"NO ! ...NO !" adult Azusa screamed in terror "You can't see !? That's exactly what I said back then !" She explained with rage in her voice "...and can you guess what she answered me ?"

"I guess it was something like "Awwww.." " teen Azusa replied, imitating Yui when she felt underestimated.

"Yes, but not just that. Not this time." adult Azusa answered back "She said: "Don't worry, Azu-nyan: I will build a bigger one, and when you'll see it, you... you will..." " then she stopped, her eyes going back to stare the void again.

" "You will" what ?!" teen Azusa pressed her "If I have to stop all of this, I must know exactly what happened back then !"

"No, you don't. In fact, you know already too much." adult Azusa was definitive.

"But !" teen Azusa replied desperate.

"There are no "buts" this time, missy !" adult Azusa replied: she was furious. "And I have no time to lose. I have to get you back to the past and do what I must to save the present. MY present."

***  
"Are you sure it's going to work ?" teen Azusa asked confused.

"Of course not, but this is the only thing I could think of." adult Azusa said handing a sleeping pill to her younger self.

They were at the very same place where teen Azusa awoke for the first time. Luckily for them, the street was empty and nobody was there.

"You'll do the sleeping as I'll do the praying."

Teen Azusa took her pill and slowly laid down on the middle of the street.

"Before you go, granted that it works of course, I have one last thing to tell you." adult Azusa said.

"What is it ?" teen Azusa asked her.

"Thank you. Thank you for all you did for me... no. For all of us." Adult Azusa finally said, as her younger self closed her eyes.

In a few seconds, adult Azusa could see her past self fade away. "I'm glad it worked" she muttered. "No one has to cry needlessly."


	8. VII: The Ties That Blind

**Chapter VII: The Ties That Blind**

Everything was ready on that Tuesday - more ready than ever. Hugging Square was stiffed with people, just as every other gathering point with a TV or a giant screen available. The excitement for the revelation of the giant building over the sea was unparalleled.

As always, when the Moempress appeared in front her subjects at the square, everyone greeted her with a massive cheer.

"Hello everybody !" she said with a voice filled with happiness "This is it, guys ! The day of the day, where super happiness begins. Let the pinkchopters fly !"

At her command, four pink helicopters started flying towards the giant structure over the sea. As soon as they were near enough, the Moempress said: "After years of preparations, I'm finally uber proud to present you all the coolest structure ever: the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower !" As she said that, the pinkchopters used giant hooks to take different parts of the pink tarpaulin and remove it.

When the tarpaulin was fallen, everybody could see it: a giant pink clock tower, whose clock was encased inside a big heart which formed the top of the tower itself . The people all over the world was astounded at the sight of a building of such cuteness, conveyed in the form a synchronized: "Ooooh !"

"The Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower is made of layers and layers of candyfloss... but it's not for you to eat it, of course." She chuckled, then continued. "If you ever feel lonely or down - which would be strange, because I build an entire world to prevent that - all you have to do is watch to the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower, so you can remember that happiness is EVERY MOMENT !" she said emphasizing the last part.

The crowd exulted as never before: Yui was at the peak of happiness when something unexpected happened. On the screen - on every screen - the image of the tower was replaced with another one. A young woman dressed in a dark blue outfit could be seen with some kind of device in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Moempress, but things aren't going as you planned. Not today." Azusa said. Her voice was grim, but it couldn't even remotely express the sense of bitterness she was feeling. She spent all the night positioning explosive charges in the weakest parts of the structure, as she checked that no people were inside.

On that very matter, she had no doubt she was the only person in the whole building: the Moempress would never allowed anybody not to see it from the outside the very moment it was showed.

"Come to me, my friend: at the middle floor of your beloved clock tower, where everything begun and everything will come to an end. I have to speak to you, and I must do it face to face." she concluded.

On her part, Yui didn't get even remotely the gravity of the situation. Azu-nyan was back and she wanted to speak with her: everything else was irrelevant. She stared a few seconds at the screen as if she couldn't believe to what she was seeing, then she yelled at the top of her lungs: "AZU-NYAAAAN !"

Immediately after that she screamed again: "To the Pinkjet... hurry!" she was so excited that it seemed she was about to cry. As one of the guards pointed her the direction, she started running.

"Let me pass... PLEASE !" she begged the mob. In turn, as if it was one single being, the crowd opened itself to form a path among the people.

"Thank you ! Thank you so much !" she would scream with gratitude as she passed running by, holding tight her Pink Fluorescent Light Stick without even realizing it. Taking her Item of Happiness in her hand has been more an instinctive action than anything else: nothing physical could express her joy for having her beloved friend back, and not even a  
thousands Wonder Wheels spinning at the same time could provide her so much excitement.

"AZU-NYAN ! AZU-NYAN, WAIT FOR ME ! I'M COMING !" She would scream now and then along the way. During the flight in the Pinkjet, she spent all the time watching from the window the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower getting nearer and nearer. Then again, she felt no pride or interest in the tower itself: the idea of seeing Azu-nyan again surpassed any other thought.

As soon as she landed on the bottom entrance of the tower, she thanked the pilot and all the others in the jet, then she hurried to call the elevator. While she was in, waiting to arrive at the middle floor, she talked to herself out loud: "It worked ! Azu-nyan is back ! I can't believe it !"

"As soon as I get there" she continued almost crying out loud for excitement "I'm going to give her the biggest hug ever, and then she will smile at me and then everything will be perfectly perfect as it was supposed to be !" She then pushed the elevators button "Faster, elevator ! Faster !"

Eventually, the elevator reached the middle floor. Yui hurried out and run towards Azusa to hug her.

"Stop right there, Moempress !" the dark blue dressed girl shouted at her. Yui stopped on the spot, and so did all of her world. "I'm not here for hugs and chit chat, Yui. I called you here because I wanted to tell you how I really feel, but first I want you to answer a question."

"A question ?" Yui asked back. "Okay..."

"How would you feel if I told you that I plan to blow up myself along with the clock tower ?"

"Well, I guess I'd feel very, very, very ,very, very..." Yui paused as she tried to find the correct word, then concluded "...not happy."

"Not happy ?" Azusa replied "There is a specific word to express that feeling. That word is "sad"."

The mob, that was watching the whole scene on the giant screen, made in unison a lament of shock and disapproval.

"But Azu-nyan !" Yui said with that same feeling on her voice "that word is forbidden !"

"I know ! That's why I have to do it, Yui. You just didn't forbid the word: you erased that whole feeling from people consciousness, and so you did with every other thing you didn't like."

"But..." the Moempress tried to speak, but Azusa interrupted her, as if she was anticipating her.

"Don't get me wrong, Yui: I know you wanted to make the world a better place. I know you are a nice person, too, but you just got too far. I have to do it, so you and all the rest of the world will remember what pain and sadness are. And then, only then, you will able to live your lives at their fullest and achieve true happiness." Azusa's words were filled with hope and confidence.

"No.. no Azu-nyan !" Yui yelled, her voice mixed with shock and disappointment "This is all wrong ! This is not how things were supposed to go ! You were supposed to let me hug you and smile back at me, so everything could be perfectly perfect !"

"Perfect for YOU, Yui !" Azu-nyan shouted back at her, pointing her finger at her. "You wanted to bring happiness to the world, but you actually forced your happiness to them !" Her voice was filled with anger "Do you know what was "perfect" for me ? It was seven years ago, when Mio, Mugi and everyone else still had a mind and soul of their own ! But you... you took it all away from me !"

The Moempress looked at the ground as a child who's getting scolded from her parents after they found her with her hands in a jar of marmalade jam. "I had no idea Azu-nyan would hate me so much." She said, and then her expression suddenly changed to a triumphant one.

"Wait, Azu-nyan ! I got it ! I know how to fix all of this !"

"Fix this ?" Azusa asked, puzzled.

"Yes ! You see, all we have to do is to make you the new Moempress ! This way everyone will love you, and you won't HATE ME ANYMORE !" Yui couldn't help but raise her voice, unable to contain the satisfaction she felt for finding the solution to every problem.

"You don't get it, do you ?" Azusa replied with a mix of anger and frustration in her voice. "For all these years you felt sorry for me because you believed I was alone, but that's exactly how I felt for you. You thought you were surrounded by people who loved you, but they were just brainless puppets, hanging on your every word to find happiness. I... I can't take it anymore." As she said those words, her grip to the detonator tightened.

Azusa's voice became deep, as sorrow took over rage. "I don't hate you, Yui. I... I love you. You are the most genuine, adorable person I've ever met. You deserve much more than this. You deserve to be loved by real people, with real feelings. I know it will hurt you, but I have no other choice."

"Maybe you don't..." Yui replied "...but I do." Her voice, while keeping her childish mood, became as firm as ever as she said: "I'm going to stay here with you."

Azusa looked at her, with a shocked and horrified look. "But... why ?"

"Because we're friends, Azu-nyan !" Yui replied naturally, gaining back her cheerful attitude. "That's what friends do: they smile together, they cry together, and they boom together."

Azusa was speechless: once again, Yui's simple logic overcame her own. "B-but..." words escaped her as she tried to speak.

Yui was not just willing to sacrifice anything just to stay with her in her last moments, she was doing it as if it was the most obvious, natural thing to do.

"I've waited all these years for you to come back, Azu-nyan..." Yui continued, smiling tenderly at her friend "...now that I found you, I'm not letting you go anywhere without me ! Now just let me fix one last thing... this time for real !" As she finished the sentence, she turned to camera, knowing that every person in the world was still watching them.

"Okay everybody, I've got two news to give you: one is bad and one is good." The mob stood silent, waiting for the Moempress to speak.

"The bad new, it's that I just decided to blow up myself together with my friend Azu-nyan and the Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower."

The mob, once again in unison, replied with shock and disappointment: "Nooooooo."

"I know it's a very bad thing, because we won't be able to play anymore. And I also want to apologize with all the people who worked so hard to realize the Super Secret Project." Yui said with genuine displeasure. "But I have a way to make it up to you, which leads to the good new: I have a new, superdupermegaawesome game for you to play !" she then said, switching back to her usual cheerful mood.

"Ooooh !" the crowd replied in awe.

"The name of the game is: Be Happy..." she paused, concentrating to come up with the rest of the name on the spot "...Being Yourself !"

The crowd murmured with excitement and trepidation, waiting to know the details of this new game the Moempress devised for them.

"It's a very, very difficult game, but I know you can do it ! There are six rules in total. The first three rules are: love each other, respect each other and help each other !" The crowd was silent, concentrated in memorizing them.

"The other rules are like the first three ones, but you have to apply them to yourself: love yourself, respect yourself and help yourself !"

"The goal of the game is to do the things that make you happy, without never ever breaking the rules ! And the prize..." she paused to create some suspense, then finished "...is that as long as you do that, the spirit of the Moempress lives inside of you... AND EVERYONE THAT PLAYS !" Yui concluded the last part closing her eyes and throwing her hands up in the air: it was her ultimate, finest work as the Moempress and the fact that she did that together with her friend Azu-nyan filled her heart with pride and joy.

The mob exulted as they never did before, and when the excitement faded it all turned silent.

"Goodbye, everybody !" Yui saluted her audience for the last time.

A stupefied Azusa watched all of that speechless. Yui got back to her, and put her hand over her own. "Let's do it, Azu-nyan" she said her tenderly "The biggest firework ever seen."

"Thank you, Yui." It was the only thing that Azusa was able to say.

"No... thank YOU." Yui replied, smiling.

Then Azusa pushed the trigger.


	9. VIII: Crumbs Of Utopia

**Chapter VIII: Crumbs Of Utopia**

The whole world was there, watching silently as history was unfolding right before their eyes. Then suddenly, the broadcast stopped, and the mindless mob that once was humanity lied in wait.

The same scene happened everywhere, and Hugging Square was no exception. Men, women and children of any race were one next to each other staring, breathing, dreaming, waiting for the end of their world. First, it came as a sound of something crumbling from the distance. Then they all turned to Fuwa Fuwa Clock Tower as they watched it fall.

****  
Inside the clock tower, Yui was finally ready to spend her last moments with her beloved Azu-nyan, but she wasn't prepared at all at what was in front of her: Azusa's face was covered in tears.

"Why is she crying ? Is she sad ? Did I do something wrong again ?" she thought. Then, she realized that those were a kind of tears she didn't see in years: tears of happiness. Just as she came to that conclusion, Yui saw Azu-nyan smile at her as she kept crying, and the one the world came to know as the Moempress was awestruck as never before: it was undoubtedly the most beautiful, radiant smile she ever seen in her own life.

Yui wanted to finally hug her friend, but Azusa was quicker: before she could even move a finger, she felt her beloved Azu-nyan's wet cheek land on her own. While Azusa moved to hug her as everything was falling around them, Yui could hear her cry some words - those very words that she wanted to tell herself: "YOU'RE BAAAACK !"

It was finally time: Yui closed her eyes to feel that moment with all her heart. Her arms moved to hug back Azusa, and when she felt that the Pink Fluorescent Light Stick she was still holding in her right hand was in the middle, she simply let it fall. She didn't feel any regret in doing so: it was quite the opposite. It felt good. It felt right. It felt perfectly perfect.

The tower was falling, and a myriad grains of pink candyfloss started floating all around like tiny petals carried by the wind. They flew all over the city, engulfing everything and everyone in a surreal, harmonious, bittersweet atmosphere.

One by one, everyone started to feel something wet flowing from their eyes. At first they would touch that strange liquid to understand what it could possibly be. Then, as if they awakened from a long dream, all the people slowly began to realize that the cause of those strange drops originated from a long forgotten feeling.

Mio, Ritsu, and all the others gathered together, and as the sadness started to take its grip, they would hug each other to face that sorrow together. The only exception was Ui.

As tears were flowing from her face, Yui's little sister opened her arms as if she wanted to get as much candyfloss as possible. Ui was the saddest person in the world, and yet a deep sense of gratitude and joy filled her very soul: her big sister was no more, but she left her last will in the form of a game for humanity to play together. But most of all, she felt that Yui was finally free: free from a world who constantly asked her for guidance. At the bottom of that desperation and unerring sense of loss, Ui felt a touching, deep happiness. True happiness.

Near the river, a man watched the Pink Fluorescent Light Stick in his hand: without even realizing, he walked forward and threw it into the water. One by one, everyone followed him until the river itself became a stream of pink, fluorescent light.  
Just as for Ui, every person in the world felt a sense of deep gratitude for them: Yui and Azusa. The Moempress and the Kitty. They felt grateful to Yui, for all the smiles and happy moments she shared with them. But they also felt grateful for Azusa, who gathered the will to sacrifice everything to awaken them from their emotional slumber. Just as for Ui, they also felt the urgency to pay them back for what they did by spending the rest of their lives doing their best to fulfill their last wish. "Be Happy Being Yourself" was no more just a game those two women made for them: it was their legacy.

Thus ended the vision of a world filled with perpetual happiness. The dream of a little girl who loved nothing more than see a smile on people's faces.

And then, the sound of an alarm clock was heard, and a young Azusa awakened in her own bedroom with tears covering her face.

*Epilogue: Colors To The Future*

"Was it all a dream ?" Azusa was wondering as she prepared for another day of school. "I must have eaten something I shouldn't. Or maybe I'm just stressed." She thought to reassure herself. "That Yui-senpai... she's me giving such a hard time everyday that she's literally became my nightmare !"

The rest of the morning passed by as the young girl tried not to think too much about it. Anyway, she resolved not to talk about it to any living soul: "Only god knows how long Yui and Ritsu would make fun of me if they were to know !" She thought.

Eventually, the time arrived to go the Light Music Club's room. Maybe today they would have made some practice instead of just eating Mugi's cakes (which she loved) and chatting. As soon she entered, Ritsu greeted her: "Oh, here comes our Kitty !"

Azusa shivered. Before she could even reply, Ritsu continued: "Don't make too much noise: our artist here is about to finish her masterpiece." she said in a obviously teasing manner as she was pointing at Yui. She was drawing something on a sheet of paper.

After a couple of minutes, Yui exclaimed: "Here it is !" As soon as she said that, she showed everyone her drawing: a pink clock tower whose upper portion was shaped as a heart. Azusa didn't believe her own eyes: it was the very same drawing she saw in her dream. "One day, I'm going to build it !"

At that point she knew she had to do something. "You know, Yui-senpai..." she said politely "...I don't want to discourage you or anything, but..." Azusa was clearly trying to make her point without being too harsh, because she believed that that has been her own mistake in the "original" timeline.

"...but I think it's a little... childish." She concluded.

"Awwww..." Yui replied at first, but then she said with renewed confidence: "Don't worry, Azu-nyan ! I will build a bigger one, and when you'll see it, you will LOVE IT !"

Those words resounded in Azusa's head like a nuclear bomb. Everything was about to happen exactly like her future self told her, and now she could see why.

Every time Yui came up with her weird ideas, Azusa would always scold her or just give them no importance whatsoever. She almost never gave her any kind of appreciation, putting sincerity everything else. She realized that sometimes, one has to put aside his or her own integrity to make people happy.

In a second, she felt that she knew exactly what she has to do, no matter if it would change history or not.

"On second thought, Yui-senpai, I think it could be nice." She said kindly.

Yui looked at her and asked: "Really !?" Every other person in the room looked at her as if a mysterious entity possessed her.

"I would actually allow myself to suggest a little...change, if you don't mind."

"Of course !" Yui exclaimed with excitement.

"I was thinking that each one of us could pick a color to add to the tower, so then we could have a tower with five vertical color strands on it. It would add more variety, don't you think ?" She said as she smiled back.

"A five colored tower ?" Yui asked "It's amazing, Azu-nyan ! Let's do it !" she said then.

Still surprised by Azusa's unusual, condescending behavior, they all agreed.

Seven years later, the Moempress awoke from her fluffy, pink colored bed. It was the beginning of a new, awesome day. Just as usual, she would spend her time with the children - and there was nothing she loved more. The thing that she liked more than everything about it, was that it was actually her "duty" as a Moempress: to find out what a person likes in the first stages of his life, so that he or she could later find the best path in society to express himself and achieve happiness and gratification.

Those who would show a liking for sports, action, physical work or leading roles would be sent to President Ritsu and her subjects. Lady Mio would take care of those who showed attitude and/or interest in poetry and literature. Queen Tsumugi would help those who liked craftsmanship, music composition and other creative jobs. Lady Azusa would take under her wings all those who where interested in maths, physics and all those subjects who relied on sheer logic.

Together with her friends and her sister, Yui managed to make a world where there could be space for everyone: a place where nobody was left behind. Sometimes there were arguments between different the colors factions, but that was the price for a world where everyone could express himself.

The Moempress opened her window in Pink Heart Castle, and she could see it: Unity Clock Tower. The symbol of a world where everyone is allowed to be different. To find his own happiness.

"Moempress ! Lady Azusa is downstairs. She says she was just passing by and she decided to make you a visit !"

"Tell her I'm coming !" Yui replied immediately, as she started preparing herself. Azu-nyan was there, and nothing in the universe could save her from the hug of her life.

**-THE END-**


End file.
